Explain how themes and issues were communicated in one production that you have seen? - The Seagull by Anton Chekhov -

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Introduction

Explain how themes and issues were communicated in one production that you have seen? We saw The Seagull by Anton Chekhov at the Poole lighthouse. The production was staged on the 26th of February, and it was performed by the Compass theatre company. It was a semi naturalist realist play, however it broke the 4th wall during some monologues. The design was illusionary and was designed to suspend disbelief, being extremely naturalistic. It was set to evoke compassion within the audience, along with the use of lighting, to subtly mirror the mood of the action on stage. The piece was accurately set, with correct costume, with early 20th century costumes, yet late 19th century furniture. Arkadina also wore late 19th century costume wear, showing her as the stubborn ness of the old way f life, and emphasising her regards to life as being one large stage. The costume and furniture also reflected the class of the main characters, with ninas clothing contrasting in material and colours to Arkadina's, showing her lack of wealth in comparison. She wore light colours, and light materials such as cotton, where as Arkadina wore rich colours such as blue and purple, in expensive satin like materials. One of the main themes running through out the play was that of pondering and wonderment as to the meaning of life. ...read more.

Middle

I felt the overall effect was good as you didn't notice the light changing too much, however the play's aspect of realism would have been better carried off if the actors didn; breask the fourth wall, or pause as they did. One particular moment I felt seemed unnatural was at the end of the first scene, ans Tregorim and Nina froze for a few seconds, and then turned to helop change set, and it reminded me it was a play again, and did not helo me to suspend my disbelief achekov would have meant the play to do. Another element not so good was that there were doors in the backdrop, and the lake was supposed to be a symbol of entrapment and solidarity, and yet characters were walking through it. Chekhov also used weather to create the tone for his stories and in his plays. The weather reflects the characters' state of mind and foreshadows upcoming events. For instance, before Nina returns to visit Konstantin the weather is stormy and windy as if the storm conjured up Nina and brought her to the estate. Storms usually reflect a change in temperature and likewise, weather is a signal for change in The Seagull. A major theme that the weather picked up on was that of existential crises. ...read more.

Conclusion

Medvedenko loves Martha, but Martha loves Konstantin. Konstantin in turn was in love with Nina whom loves him back briefly but then falls madly in love with Trigorin. Arkadina loves Trigorin but loses his affections to Nina. Paullina loves Dorn though she is married to Shamrayev. Dorn sometimes shares an affection for Paullina, but his apathy for her appears to have begun before the play started and continues to fade during the course of the play. The couples and the unrequited lovers resonate and reflect off of one another, serving as parallels and mirrors of each other in the play. They represent different stages of life and of love. The clearest parallel involves Paullina and Martha. Martha's unrequited love for Konstantin and decision to marry Medvedenko seems to mirror her mother's unhappy marriage to Shamrayev and her unrequited love for Dorn. The lighting seemed to reflect the mood of the piece when two lovers were together, often alone, and also the stages and events happening between them. The lighting was only subtle, however for instance when Trigorin and Nina together an undertone of rose was used, showing the beginning of something. When Arkadina and Trigorin had a slightly passionate scene, the lights were actually directed on the red curtains at the rear of the stage, with red symbolising both passion, and anger, with Arkadina's anger and jealousy of Nina, leaving her to try and seduce Trigorin back to her. ?? ?? ?? ?? The Seagull ...read more.

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